Elahi says PML-N crippled economy

Says the government will export 6.8 million tonnes of wheat

LAHORE: Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervez Elahi said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) government not only crippled province’s economy, ruined the state of institutions but also destroyed agriculture which was the backbone of the country.

The speaker expressed these views while addressing a group of journalists of the press gallery who cover the Punjab Assembly proceedings.

He also termed most of the projects launched by PML-N government were a source of ‘kickbacks’ rather than facilitating the masses.

He said the Punjab government was about to initiate the process to export 6.8 million tonnes of wheat. He alleged the PML-N’s government crippled Punjab’s economy, ruined the state of institutions and destroyed the agriculture which was believed to be the backbone of a country.

He said the wheat that had been purchased with a loan by the then PML-N government, interest was being charged on it. He said both PML-N’s leaders, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and former chief minister Shehbaz Sharif, had given subsidy on that wheat which surprisingly was never exported from Torkham border but on paper. He said not even a single seed was exported from Torkham.

“In our era, we stored around 1.5 million tonnes for safety to protect farmers from losses.” He said the government was always ready when the farmer’s crop was almost ready to pay the farmers and keep them at bay from losses but the situation was quite contradictory in the PML-N government.

He said he had asked CM Buzdar to pass an order and take a step to avoid further interest on wheat.



He also applauded Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visits to Saudi Arabia and his visit to China in the coming days. “Our country’s economy is not good but Imran Khan is making efforts to steer the country out of current crisis.” He said there were a lot of things which needed to be reviewed with China. “PM Khan is working with honesty and had good intention to bring happiness in common man’s life,” he said.

He said Orange Line project would not pay back to the country adding agricultural land had been destroyed in the name of Sahiwal power plant. Most projects of the PML-N were of ‘commission-based’ which not only ruined the country’s economy but also affected the masses. He said when he took charge he asked about any good project the previous government had initiated so that those projects could be continued rather than following the attitude of PML-N which preferred to stop work on previous government’s projects.

“Our country’s economy has weakened but PM Khan’s visit to Saudi Arabia was a successful venture that will help the country.” He said when he had left the charge there were Rs100 billion in the national exchequer but today the nation has to pay Rs700 billion as debt.



Shedding light on the formation of a special committee-II, (that had been constituted for probing the development projects, now facing an escalation in cost), he said committee would also propose action after it pointed out the responsible either there would be the former chief minister or others who caused loss to the national exchequer.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27^th, 2018.